According to the folk calendar - Zakhar Serpovidets

According to the folk calendar, on February 21 (February 8, old style), the holiday of Zakhar the Sickle is celebrated This event took its name from the Orthodox date of honoring the memory of one of the 12 minor prophets - Zechariah the Sickle-Seer, who lived 520 years before the birth of Jesus Christ From a young age, Zechariah served the Lord, for which he received the gift of foresight His prophetic works carried predictions about the Savior, about the life of the Messiah on earth and his suffering for human sins Once Zechariah told how in visions he saw a scroll rising into the air, its shape resembling a sickle, after which they began to call him the Sickle Seer Among the people of Zakhar the Serpovidets, the sickle deserved special attention, as it was considered an important assistant in harvesting It was taken out of its bins and prepared for summer work in advance: they checked whether it was broken, removed dirt, sharpened the edge, and sprinkled it with water blessed in the temple So that it would bring more harvest during the harvest, the sickle was shown to the month at night The people believed that the prophet Zechariah was returning to earth on this day to check the condition of the sickles to see if they were ready for the harvest The women turned to Saint Zakhar with a request to give a rich grain harvest in the summer They also believed that the sickle, an iron and sharp implement, was a good weapon against evil spirits It was used to drive away evil spirits by sticking into a door frame or blocking a stove vent Girls and boys spent the evening at get-togethers and talked The day was prosperous for wedding celebrations and feasting It was forbidden to perform surgical operations on Zakhar the Serpovidets, otherwise there could be a bad outcome Healers could remove damage and the evil eye on a given day They used signs to navigate the future weather If there was a frosty day, residents prepared for the end of winter The appearance of frost foreshadowed good honey harvests The creeping smoke on the ground promised an impending blizzard If geese were swimming in the snowdrifts or a dog was rolling out, the onset of heat was expected The stronger the frost on Zakhar Serpovidets, the warmer the coming March will be